Note written in blood found near body of beaten girl

PHOENIX {AP} A note written in blood praying for "compassion, love and kindness" was found near the body of an 8-year-old girl beaten to death with a belt, according to a police report.

Christine Tuong was found dead May 15 on the floor of a prayer room in her family's home in suburban Gilbert, the report said.

A piece of paper on the altar was inscribed in blood. A Buddhist priest told detectives the inscription was the beginning of a 2,500-year-old mantra usually recited as a chant.

Detectives believe Christine's parents hit her more than 17 times, leaving injuries that match belt buckles seized from the family's home, according to the report.

The parents then instructed Christine's sisters, ages 7 and 9, to lie to authorities about the death, the report says. A medical exam found evidence that the two sisters were molested, it says.

A decision on whether to charge the parents will be made in about a week, after an outside expert helps the medical examiner's office review evidence gathered from the autopsy, County Attorney Rick Romley said.

The parents told police they do not beat their children with a belt and rely only on verbal discipline, the report said.

The girl's father, Tung Tuong, and mother, Minh Tuong, have refused to comment about their daughter's death. They are Vietnamese refugees who came to the United States in 1980.